Sunday, October 20, 2013

Sun Oct 20th Todays News

ALP divided, will never be united. Blame games keep dreams alive. Latham can say *anything* at *anytime* which may contradict *something* at *sometime* but will be published regardless without fact checking. Plibersek to make play for leadership? ALP win NSW by-election, but still need reform.Green policy ignites flames.Illegal immigrants are not clients. Europeans move to stop murderous folly. Crying children need parents.Australian child brides.Wikileaks movie bombs despite top actors. Education reform needs good educators.
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Piers Akerman – Saturday,October 19,2013 (11:23pm)

Miranda Devine – Sunday,October 20,2013 (5:59am)

TONY Abbott has been in the job just six weeks, and is the only PM to don a volunteer firefighter’s yellow overalls. But already greenies are blaming him for Sydney’s devastating bushfires, branding him a “climate-change criminal”.

Nothing could be more despicably opportunistic than Melbourne Greens MP Adam Bandt’s tweet on Thursday, using the latest fire emergency in the NSW Blue Mountains to score a political point over the Coalition’s climate-change policy.

At the time, distressing scenes were playing out as desperate mothers outside a Springwood school begged firefighters to evacuate their children as flames raced towards the ridge.

“I’ve just spoken to the teacher,” said one woman, barely containing her panic. “The teacher has said she doesn’t know how to get them out.”

Maybe Bandt doesn’t have a TV in his office, but at about the same time he made his cynical political interjection into this rolling human tragedy via Twitter. “Why Tony Abbott’s plan means more bushfires for Australia & more pics like this of Sydney.”

Cue image of blackened bush and a link to his article in The Guardian: “By repealing the carbon tax, Tony Abbott is failing to protect his people.”

In fact, this is a total lie.

Tony Abbott’s plan is to abolish the carbon tax, for which he has a resounding election mandate. The carbon tax has zero impact on bushfires. Zero. It doesn’t matter how much we charge ourselves for carbon dioxide, bushfires will occur.

We cannot control the weather. The only thing we have control over is how much fuel is available to those fires.

And here is where greenies are culpable. It is their continuing opposition to properly managing the fuel loads in our bush that has turned bushfires in recent times into unstoppable infernos.

They might pay lip service to hazard reduction but in a thousand ways they obstruct it.

In the Blue Mountains last week, in Tasmania, in Victoria, time and time again, we witness the destructive consequence of huge fuel loads - leaves, tree litter, undergrowth - built up over years without proper hazard reduction.

Systematic cool burns in the winter months, which are done on a cyclical basis every few years, are needed to keep fuel loads at levels which allow firefighters to control outbreaks.

“Fires run on fuel. More fuel equals more fire,” says Brian Williams, captain of the Kurrajong Heights bushfire brigade for 28 years.

“Limited fuel means limited fire. Hazard reduction won’t eliminate fire but it keeps it at a level where we can manage it.”

Williams is expecting severe fire danger today in his fire-prone area at the top of a ridge, surrounded by national park.

He has never lost a house but this time he is worried, because he has been unable to do all the necessary hazard reduction burns, due to bureaucratic green tape and obstruction from the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service.

“I’ve got a patch now I’ve been waiting three years to burn, and if this fire gets in there’s every chance homes will go. The fuels are 12 years old and there’s a 20 degree uphill slope to houses on the ridge line.”

Even for a veteran like Williams, performing a controlled burn in the cooler months has become a logistical nightmare, with multiple forms to fill out, biodiversity to monitor and myriad agencies from which to beg permission.

A process that once took six people now needs 40, with a limited window of suitable weather days.

While the NSW government has vowed to increase hazard reduction, it is nowhere near enough.

Australia’s foremost bushfire scientist, former CSIRO researcher Dr Phil Cheney, says this fire season is very similar to 1968, with strong westerly winds in October after a dry winter.

The difference is that “the forests have thickened up enormously in the past 50 years” and people’s attitude to fire has changed.

People used to not “whinge about a bit of smoke on their washing. It was accepted that fire was part and parcel of the environment. Now that acceptance is begrudgingly learned,” Cheney says.

Cheney is no climate sceptic, but he scoffs at the stupidity of blaming climate change for bushfires.

“We’ve had these big fires forever. You’d have to come from Mars not to know that. This is a flammable continent.

“The changes are not weather changes - they are not fire behaviour changes. They are lifestyle changes and fuel changes.”

People now live deep in the bush, with flammable native gardens rather than lawns and European vegetation. Burning off ground fuel used to be an Australian tradition. Now it’s frowned upon.

“As a result the fires we get are much more intense and close to homes.”

The smoke haze still lies thick over us today and worse is yet to come.

But one thing is for sure: when Tony Abbott goes out to fight fires with his local brigade, there will be no sign of Adam Bandt.

Miranda Devine – Sunday,October 20,2013 (5:52am)

RETIRED Labor MP Nicola Roxon seemed not to realise the hypocrisy of calling for civility from her colleagues and telling them to “keep yourselves nice” - while she repeatedly called Kevin Rudd a “bastard” during a speech last week.

It is not a good example for a former attorney-general to set for children.

But the rancour is all part of the battle of the narratives.

Who is history going to blame for Labor’s mess: Julia Gillard or Rudd? Labor does need to engage in serious soul-searching and get to grips with what went wrong.

Miranda Devine – Sunday,October 20,2013 (5:49am)

SPARE a thought for the bus driver who tried to throw Beth Burton (below) and her whining child off the bus to Bondi.

He has been suspended after telling Burton, 24, that if she didn’t stop 21-month-old Mia from “carrying on” she’d have to get off the 380 bus.

When a male passenger intervened, the driver stormed off the bus before cooling off and resuming his duties.

It upset the young mum, and an apology was in order.

But let’s cut the driver some slack. Driving a bus in Sydney traffic and keeping up with a stringent, impossible timetable is hard enough without out-of-sorts kids in your ear. Of course, the community needs to be more tolerant and welcoming towards children in our midst.

After all, parents are nurturing the citizens of the future.

When my children were toddlers, I formed a joke lobby group with friends which we called Mothers Against Meanies (MAM) to combat all the nasty looks and comments from older people intolerant of our children’s antics.

But it’s a two-way street. Parents should not expect the public to endure long bouts of intolerable behaviour from their children.

Miranda Devine – Sunday,October 20,2013 (5:24am)

A MUSLIM child-bride married off at age 14 and abused by her husband for the next six years has won full custody of their child in a case that should send warning bells across Australia.

Federal Circuit Court judge Joe Harman was so appalled by the violent abuse endured by the young woman, now 24, that he called her former husband as “a most heinous, capricious and revolting misogynist”.

What is most disturbing about this story is not just that her parents willingly married her off to such a man.

It is that she told a teacher of her problems but nothing was done, despite mandatory reporting requirements.

This is cultural tolerance beyond reason. Domestic abuse is wrong in any culture.

Only last year, Mark Latham described the ABC as
“Australia’s last remaining mausoleum of socialist demagoguery” and
volunteered to oversee its privatisation. Now the erratic former Labor
leader calls on conservatives to acknowledge “the impartiality of the
ABC.”

Mark Knight’s picture is magnificent. What I find
most interesting, however, is the notion that mocking a Green (or anyone
actually) warming about the hell-fire and damnation of climate change
has become acceptable. Only a few years ago the entire progressive
establishment (including elements within the Liberal Party) would have
been out there drawing the links between bushfires and climate change.
Now with only Bandt have stuck his head out, we see cartoonists tearing
him a new one.
Good.

Australia’s emissions are 1.5% of the global total. If we reduced
that to zero overnight, it would make no difference at all to the
climate. As it is, we are only planning to reduce by 5% by 2020, or in
other words, 0.075% of global emissions, when the major emitters are
doing close to nothing by comparison.
And Bandt thinks that will make a difference to bush fire frequency or intensity?
Idiotic statements like this will ensure the Greens are consigned to the sewer of Australian political history...

Within hours of the ALP losing government in September, Plibersek
emerged as a potential new leader. A few weeks later, BRW magazine
described her as a “powerful candidate” due to her “warmth, intelligence
... and, let’s not be shy, her undoubted charisma”. Then former PM
Julia Gillard all but endorsed Plibersek, calling her one of the most
gifted communicators in politics… political observers were left asking
why she didn’t step up for the top job....
“If you were to draw up a shortlist for the next PM, it would have Tanya
Plibersek’s name on it,” says political commentator Lachlan Harris, a
former press secretary to Kevin Rudd…
[Bob] Hawke remains a firm believer in Plibersek’s ability to lead the
party. “She’s got everything it takes,” he says… In her own electorate
of Sydney she is much loved…
Long-time Canberra press gallery journalist Kerry-Anne Walsh describes
Plibersek as a “straight shooter… She’s a genuinely compassionate
person, a good policy driver, and she doesn’t play nasty political
games."…
Plibersek’s hospitality is legendary… Plibersek is one of the most
invited guests on ABC TV’s Q&A program ... known for her calm,
thoughtful answers ... warmer, more personable ... strikingly handsome
... family comes first for Plibersek… The marginalised and
disadvantaged are the focus of Plibersek’s work.... Plibersek is a
survivor, a stayer, a new hope for Labor.

Watch out, Bill.
Note one other thing from the hagiography. It is by a woman, writing for Fairfax’s Daily Life
section for women. Daily Life columnists like to vent at sexists who
discuss what clothes female politicians wear, the poor victims. For instance:

From a young age, we all of us – men and women – internalize the idea
that women have an obligation to be attractive, particularly if they
plan on making a habit of speaking in public, or venturing into places
where people can see them…
These are not issues separate from the ‘jocular’ observations of whether
or not the Prime Minister’s jackets are awkwardly tailored. They all
belong to the school of thought that suggests women are there for the
amusement and benefit of other people, and that they should follow the
rules accordingly… But on a macro level, it also discourages the
involvement of women in public life.

Ms Gillard said that it had been a mixed bag being Australia’s first female prime minister.
‘’It’s an experience that’s mixed, I’d have to say. Endless focus on
hair, and clothes and shoes and things that men don’t have to put up
with,’’ she said.

But note the focus Daily Life puts on Plibersek’s clothes - and how Plibersek herself goes along with it:

Never confuse the
frantic myth-making of the media class with the interest of the
movie-going public. For instance, Julian Assange fills acres of Leftist
newsprint but empties cinemas:

Placing #6 is DreamWorks Studios’ The Fifth
Estate flopping worse than forecast with only $700K for Friday and just a
$2M weekend even factoring its low 1,769 theatre count. The per screen
average looks to be $1,102 meaning each location is playing nearly
empty. This hyperbolic melodrama earned only a ‘B-’ CinemaScore from
audiences which won’t help word of mouth. Its multiple trailers and
high-spend TV ads were as misguided as WikiLeaker Julian Assange played
by Benedict Cumberbatch who deserved way better than director Bill
Condon.

I like the idea in
principle. My concern is that many state schools will not have the
esprit and the parental involvement needed to make this work well:

PRINCIPALS
and parents will be put in control of public schools under the first
rollout of Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s schools revolution...
Mr Abbott pledged during the election campaign to make public schools
“independent”, and wants 25 per cent of public schools to make the
switch by 2017…
Education Minister Christopher Pyne predicts the reforms will boost
public school enrolments, reversing the trend of parents choosing to go
private over public.,,
“Rubber will start to hit the road in 2014...’’
At the core of the new schools agenda is delivering more public school
principals the power to hire staff and set school budgets.
For parents, independent public schools would offer a greater say
through school boards that would set the strategic direction of a school
in consultation with local community and business leaders.

In the end, though, the government should also do a better job of
insisting on performance, with sanctions on those who do not deliver it.
It should also reverse the damaging trend of the past couple of decades
to prefer quantity to quality in hiring teachers.
A class of 25 led by a great teacher is better for students than a class of 20 led by a bad one.

Mr Collier took back the seat he lost in 2011 after the resignation of
former Liberal sports minister Graham Annesley ... to become chief
executive of the Gold Coast Titans NRL club…

[Premier Barry] O’Farrell ... said the backlash was against an MP
quitting and causing people to return to the polls, not against his
government… There have [also] been allegations over relations between
property developers with Liberal Party connections and Sutherland
Council.

Politicians inclined to rort their expenses should take particular note.
(Thanks to reader Tim.)

Hold a baby .. great skill! - ed
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I am stupid .. I used to be really arrogant and critical of others .. but as I got older .. I began to realise, slowly because I'm quite dumb, that others have reason for their actions, but I had none for my contempt.
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When this Melbourne brothel opened on Saturday it was the first time in its long and colourful history that nobody came.

Well - some people came. To the auction. But not many. There was only one bid of a tickle over $1.4 million, but it was not nearly enough to sell the property, which until July was trading as Ladies For Gentlemen.>

Please bear with me for a while... you will be seeing a few more images of the Golden Gate bridge from yours truly.

I arrived at Hawk hill a day ago as the sun was setting and the moon was rising. Then the fog moved in. I wound up staying all night long in the area and even wound up finding a place to car camp with the fog bound bridge in sight and let the fog horns lull me to sleep for a three hour nap.

This was my third location for shooting the morning sunrise. I went straight home after taking this shot.

TRUTH for the day: Life is too short for dead in jobs, people, places and things. If there is no peace, fulfillment, appreciation, love, happiness, uplifting, laughter or passion then it needs to change or go. Have a fabulous day!

Harsh wisdom .. it is wise .. patience can sometimes be taken advantage of. But it is good not to give up on *everything* .. prioritise ;) ed

<.. I just wish Carr would fcuk off and drop dead. He makes me more sick than all of the ALP put together. A do-nothing premier and still being paid for doing even less.>
===Awesome Anzac bikkies and three great books on problem solving Maths .. thanks to Teresa Limbu, and William Tan. And kudos to Tiny on his restraint .. I get it now how disciplined he is!
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Remember when the press would fight censorship? - ed
===Whoops! Last month's discovery of a 2,600-year-old Etruscan warrior prince's tomb in Italy held one more surprise for researchers. (Cue the Disney music...)

===Happy birthday, Michael Gambon! Thank you for taking a character so dear to our hearts and bringing him to life flawlessly.
===A couple had their wedding rings engraved with a waveform of their own voices saying “I do.”
===This is a wildlife bridge in the Netherlands. They are designed to help animals cross busy highways in safety. They don't just protect wildlife from being hit by cars - they also connect fragmented habitats and help populations intermingle and breed.
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Jere VanLoanDuring the Clinton administration, after conservatives made massive congressional gains in the 1994 Republican Revolution, there were two full government shutdowns lasting 5 and 21 days respectively, both the longest and most severe to that date. These shutdowns led to massive furloughs and significant disruption. The primary issue was the United States budget deficit. Wikipedia

I LIKE WHAT AM DOING.It is one thing to be a son and spiritual son and working through the relationship on a daily bases, it is another to be the parent. I had parenting and spiritual parenting literally entrusted to me. This really caused the pressure and lessons to be sped up.I worked out the right way to do it (By His Grace of course). It was a challenge to take everything and teach it. How do you take all you have learned and put it into a few messages?By faith. Yet nothing excited me more than to see how the Lord revealed his own agenda during my quiet hour.I look forward to seeing the change come, but where will that change start? In families and in our Church.• The way we see God will influence our beliefs and viewpoints• The way we see our parents and mostly our Fathers (Natural or Spiritual) will affect our relationship with the Lord and those all around us.I for one am challenged afresh and pray you too will take up this new call to accountability. If you are a child, it is time to receive what you need.If God has called you to be a spiritual parent, then stand up and be counted as He is waiting for you to serve Him.God bless you.

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And now nothing they have imagined they can do will be impossible for them.”(Genesis 11:6, AMP)

How often do you stop and think about what you are thinking about? So often, we live with our minds on autopilot, taking in whatever thoughts come our way. But, if we are going to rise up higher the way God intends, we have to determine to make sure our thoughts line up with God’s thoughts.

Seven times in scripture God asks, “What do you see?” God is interested in our vision. Before your dream comes to pass, you have to see yourself accomplishing that dream. You’ve got to get a picture of it. Before you lose the weight, before you break the addiction, you have to see it happening in your imagination.

Today, instead of thinking about your problems, think about God’s promises. Get a vision for what He has in store for your future. Imagine yourself living in victory. Imagine yourself healed. Imagine yourself walking in abundance. Imagine yourself blessing other people. Just imagine what God has in store for you because nothing is impossible with Him.God bless you.

===I'll start off with last night's Fog Bow... I would have never known about these if not for Mike Hollingshead... this was the first time I ever saw one in person. Pretty nifty! — at Hawk Hill.
===Cotton Candy Sunrise

After pulling an all nighter along the Marin Headlands, I was rewarded with this fantastic foggy sunrise over San Francisco and it's bridges. I was also rewarded by seeing so many of the awesome local photographers I have grown to know so well and who I delight in seeing and talking to. There was far too little time to socialize however with this pastel scene unfolding before us. It was good seeing you; John Louie, and his brother Andrew, Steve-Maxx Landeros, Toby Harriman, David Yu, Wilson Lam, Amy Heiden, and so many others! I look forward to seeing what you came away with on this beautiful morning.

Indeed a musical high water mark .. in the same genre of Rebecca Black's Friday .. ed
===The Moment

I was up on Hawk Hill with my friend Miguel, and when he went to go home, I decided to see if the fog had lowered enough at Battery Spencer to get a shot. When I arrived, I was completely alone and the bridge was not visible through the thick mists. This thought came to me that if I stayed a little while there would be a clearing, and indeed five minutes later this presented itself. Then the sky closed up again... Magic. — at Battery Spencer.
===Resettlement and Recompense Little notice has been paid to the fate of the 850,000 Jewish refugees from the Arab states, about 550,000 of whom were resettled in Israel. Similarly, the resettlement of most of the Palestinian refugees in the host Arab countries, creating a de facto population exchange, has been overlooked.

http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |The search, now 30 years old, for Iranian “moderates” goes on. Amid the enthusiasm of the latest sighting, it’s worth remembering that the highlight of the Iran-contra arms-for-hostages debacle was thesecret trip to Tehran taken by Robert McFarlane, President Reagan’s former national security adviser. He brought a key-shaped cake symbolizing the new relations he was opening with the “moderates.”

Rouhani is Khamenei’s agent but, with a smile and style, he’s now hailed as the face of Iranian moderation. Why? Because Rouhani wants better relations with the West.

Well, what leader would not want relief from Western sanctions that have sunk Iran’s economy, devalued its currency and caused widespread hardship? The test of moderation is not what you want but what you’re willing to give. After all, sanctions were not slapped on Iran for amusement. It was to enforce multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions demanding a halt to uranium enrichment.

Within the memory of the youngest child there was a family of rabbits who lived near a pack of wolves. The wolves announced that they did not like the way the rabbits were living. (The wolves were crazy about the way they themselves were living, because it was the only way to live.) One night several wolves were killed in an earthquake and this was blamed on the rabbits, for it is well known that rabbits pound on the ground with their hind legs and cause earthquakes. On another night one of the wolves was killed by a bolt of lightning and this was also blamed on the rabbits, for it is well known that lettuce-eaters cause lightning. The wolves threatened to civilize the rabbits if they didn't behave, and the rabbits decided to run away to a desert island. But the other animals, who lived at a great distance, shamed them saying, "You must stay where you are and be brave. This is no world for escapists. If the wolves attack you, we will come to your aid in all probability." So the rabbits continued to live near the wolves and one day there was a terrible flood which drowned a great many wolves. This was blamed on the rabbits, for it is well known that carrot-nibblers with long ears cause floods. The wolves descended on the rabbits, for their own good, and imprisoned them in a dark cave, for their own protection.

When nothing was heard about the rabbits for some weeks, the other animals demanded to know what had happened to them. The wolves replied that the rabbits had been eaten and since they had been eaten the affair was a purely internal matter. But the other animals warned that they might possibly unite against the wolves unless some reason was given for the destruction of the rabbits. So the wolves gave them one. "They were trying to escape," said the wolves, "and, as you know, this is no world for escapists."

SEPTEMBER 29, 2013, , By Charles Abelsohn, TOI The following article was sent to the spokesman for Baroness Catherine Ashton. It was not acknowledged. BARONESS ASHTON: PLEASE ENLIGHTEN WHY, WHEN ISRAEL IS INVOLVED, THE EU CHANGES THE LEGAL TO ILLEGAL AND THE ILLEGAL TO LEGAL. Sometimes one wonders exactly what the European Union [EU] wants from and expects of …

HOW CAN IT BE STOLEN WHEN THEY HATE JUDAISM ?There was 1/2 million Jews living in Iraq at one time .. Saddam & Iraqis butchered them and drove them out ... and do not want any Jews there . Why should Iraq get the scrolls ? It should go to the Jews that fled to Israel from IraqThe Jewish community of Iraq was one of the most ancient and storied of the Jewish diaspora. Jews came to the area after the destruction of the First Temple (586 B.C.E.) - and maybe even 10 years earlier with the exile of Jehoiachin. They integrated into their land of captivity and took part in its economic and cultural development.

At its highest point, the Jewish population of Baghdad, Iraq's capital, amounted to nearly one-third of the total population. The rise of Islamic regimes and increased anti-Semitism drove away most Jews from Iraq. Today, the Jewish community in Iraq is non-existent.
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<People have double standards." The unspeakable crime of the 20th century, more than the triumph of evil, was the sin of the "innocent" bystander."

When I posted tragic photographs of Syrian children raped and murdered I am told by the do-gooders how offended they are that I am exploiting these shocking pictures for pushing the point how Obama is guilty of assisting the anti- Assad Syrians.

So please explain why I should not be offended by these Holocaust pictures or is it because we have become so accustomed to them that we are now desensitised ?>===
<We escaped slavery when leaving Egypt and accepting Torah. Those pagans who refuse to accept it then and now, remain in bondage and exile. Adding or subtracting from Hashem's word has not been the cure. Civilisations come and go but those who follow Torah despite the calamities live on.>
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The IDF carried out a controlled explosion of a bomb-filled tunnel that Hamas had dug from Gaza into Israel. “The tunnel was blown up to destroy an additional Hamas terrorist infrastructure,” the IDF said in a statement. “The IDF will continue to operate as is necessary to protect the residents of Israel.” Gazan terrorists had filled the tunnel with explosives. On Sunday, the IDF announced the uncovering of a massive 1.7-km.-long Hamas attack tunnel leading from Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, into Israel, complete with an electrical supply and phone lines, and lined with Israeli cement.

US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro visited the Hamas attack tunnel leading from the southern Gaza Strip into Israel on Thursday. A statement from the US embassy in Tel Aviv stated that the ambassador's visit demonstrated "US support for Israel's security and its right to defend itself." "I was shocked from what I saw in the tunnel. It is clear that this tunnel has only one purpose: to carry out terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers," Shapiro said in the statement.

CLICK HERE to sign up for "Israel in my Heart" updates! Israel is in My HeartReceive beautiful pictures and videos of israel!!

Morning

Are you mourning, believer, because you are so weak in the divine life: because your faith is so little, your love so feeble? Cheer up, for you have cause for gratitude. Remember that in some things you are equal to the greatest and most full-grown Christian. You are as much bought with blood as he is. You are as much an adopted child of God as any other believer. An infant is as truly a child of its parents as is the full-grown man. You are as completely justified, for your justification is not a thing of degrees: your little faith has made you clean every whit. You have as much right to the precious things of the covenant as the most advanced believers, for your right to covenant mercies lies not in your growth, but in the covenant itself; and your faith in Jesus is not the measure, but the token of your inheritance in him. You are as rich as the richest, if not in enjoyment, yet in real possession. The smallest star that gleams is set in heaven; the faintest ray of light has affinity with the great orb of day. In the family register of glory the small and the great are written with the same pen. You are as dear to your Father's heart as the greatest in the family. Jesus is very tender over you. You are like the smoking flax; a rougher spirit would say, "put out that smoking flax, it fills the room with an offensive odour!" but the smoking flax he will not quench. You are like a bruised reed; and any less tender hand than that of the Chief Musician would tread upon you or throw you away, but he will never break the bruised reed. Instead of being downcast by reason of what you are, you should triumph in Christ. Am I but little in Israel? Yet in Christ I am made to sit in heavenly places. Am I poor in faith? Still in Jesus I am heir of all things. Though "less than nothing I can boast, and vanity confess." Yet, if the root of the matter be in me I will rejoice in the Lord, and glory in the God of my salvation.

Evening

Any man can sing in the day. When the cup is full, man draws inspiration from it. When wealth rolls in abundance around him, any man can praise the God who gives a plenteous harvest or sends home a loaded argosy. It is easy enough for an Aeolian harp to whisper music when the winds blow--the difficulty is for music to swell forth when no wind is stirring. It is easy to sing when we can read the notes by daylight; but he is skilful who sings when there is not a ray of light to read by--who sings from his heart. No man can make a song in the night of himself; he may attempt it, but he will find that a song in the night must be divinely inspired. Let all things go well, I can weave songs, fashioning them wherever I go out of the flowers that grow upon my path; but put me in a desert, where no green thing grows, and wherewith shall I frame a hymn of praise to God? How shall a mortal man make a crown for the Lord where no jewels are? Let but this voice be clear, and this body full of health, and I can sing God's praise: silence my tongue, lay me upon the bed of languishing, and how shall I then chant God's high praises, unless he himself give me the song? No, it is not in man's power to sing when all is adverse, unless an altar-coal shall touch his lip. It was a divine song, which Habakkuk sang, when in the night he said, "Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation." Then, since our Maker gives songs in the night, let us wait upon him for the music. O thou chief musician, let us not remain songless because affliction is upon us, but tune thou our lips to the melody of thanksgiving.

Today's Old Testament reading: Isaiah 56-58

Salvation for Others

1 This is what the LORD says:

"Maintain justiceand do what is right,for my salvation is close at handand my righteousness will soon be revealed.2 Blessed is the one who does this-the person who holds it fast,who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it,and keeps their hands from doing any evil."

3 Let no foreigner who is bound to the LORD say,"The LORD will surely exclude me from his people."And let no eunuch complain,"I am only a dry tree."

4 For this is what the LORD says:

"To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,who choose what pleases meand hold fast to my covenant-5 to them I will give within my temple and its wallsa memorial and a namebetter than sons and daughters;I will give them an everlasting namethat will endure forever....

Today's New Testament reading: 2 Thessalonians 2

The Man of Lawlessness

1 Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, 2 not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us-whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter-asserting that the day of the Lord has already come. 3 Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4 He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God.

5 Don't you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? 6 And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. 7 For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, 10 and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie 12 and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness....

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place where he prayed (Mark 1:35, NIV).

Friend to Friend

Yesterday, we looked at the problem of burnout or exhaustion. Burnout is defined as "a state of mental and/or physical exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress." Sound familiar? We also looked at several men in the Bible who struggled with spiritual and mental exhaustion. So if the great leaders of the Bible struggled with exhaustion, how do weavoid it?

The most effective way to avoid burnout is to be in constant communion with God, the Father. In Mark chapter one, Jesus gives us the key to avoiding overload: "Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place where he prayed," (Mark 1:35NIV).

Early in the morning Jesus went off by Himself and spent time alone with His Heavenly Father. Interestingly, Simon and his companion interrupted Jesus' time of prayer. "Everyone is looking for you!" they exclaimed. The day before, Jesus had healed many men and women. No doubt, the disciples and the townspeople wanted Jesus to return to perform more miracles. But Jesus had a different idea..."Let us go somewhere else - to the nearby villages - so I can preach there also. That is why I have come."

I don't know about you, but by 8:00 in the morning, my phone is ringing with people making requests and demands on my time. How do we know when to say "yes" and when to say "no?" How do we know what God's will is for us on any given day? Jesus gives us the answer right there in Mark 1:35. We begin our day with God by praying and asking Him to give us our marching orders.

Would it have been a good and noble thing for Jesus to go back to Capernaum and minister to the people there? Yes, it would have been good, but perhaps not God's best. Because Jesus had spent time with God in the morning, He knew what God's plans were for Him that day and He could say "yes" and "no" with confidence.

Inviting God to fuel and fan the flames of enthusiasm for life each day is the key way to avoid burnout. But our friend, Elijah, gives us an example of how God tenderly re-ignites that flame if it has dimmed to a mere flicker. No matter where you are on the continuum of blazing spiritual passion or smoldering wick, here are some ideas to avoid burnout or rekindle the fire.

Rest often. (God rested on the 7th day.)

Refresh with proper diet.

Re-evaluate priorities and responsibilities on a regular basis (monthly).

Relegate and delegate.

Review commitments regularly (monthly).

Resist saying "yes" to demands and requests that do not line up with what God has called you to do.

Resist being ruled by your schedule and allow for divine appointments from God that may not be on your schedule.

Remove superfluous activities that interfere with or choke out with God's agenda.

Refocus on what God has called you to do rather than what others would like for you to do.

Remain in close and constant communion with God.

Let's Pray

Dear Lord, You know that I have a tendency to take on too much. Please help me to hear Your still small voice telling me when to say "yes" and when to say "no." Today, I commit to remain in constant communion with You. You are my strength and my provider.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.

Now It's Your Turn

Go back and look at the activities that you engaged in last week and ponder the following questions:

Were they all necessary?

Could they have been done more effectively by someone else?

Was there anything on your schedule that you wished you had said "no" to?

Consider memorizing today's Key Verse and making it the filter for your daily activities.

"Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment." 1 Timothy 6:17 (NIV)

Wealth is something I didn't think I had.

As a single mom widowed over 14 years ago, I don't have money for extras like new clothes or weekend trips. Therefore, I didn't think it was possible for me to give much to others and this made me sad. Until I realized it's not the size of a gift that matters.

It's the amount of hope wrapped around the gift that makes all the difference.

I learned about true wealth through a sweet little boy I met during a mission trip to Ecuador with Compassion International.

Miguel lives in a one room house with his mother and three siblings. They share a bed that lies on a dirt floor. They have no bathroom and no electricity. The vegetables his mother used to prepare their evening meal consisted of peelings and rotting parts that certainly would never have made it into one of my recipes. I would have mindlessly thrown them away.

My eyes filled with tears of sadness as I stared true poverty in the face. But Miguel's eyes were filled with a rare and precious joy. A sponsor had breathed the gift of hope into Miguel's life, which made all the difference.

This experience challenged me. I was compelled to figure out a way to sponsor a child and make this same kind of impact. Though I can't solve all the problems of the world, I can give the gift of hope to one life and that's a great start.

My brief encounter with Miguel taught me so much about the true meaning of wealth, and I think of him often. I think of him when I catch myself complaining that the square footage of my house is too small, or when my power bill is more than I expect. But mostly, I think of Miguel when I need to be reminded that the gift of hope is priceless.

My friends, in just a few short weeks many of us will put up our Christmas tree and hang bright lights and stockings. We will set up our nativity scenes and sing Christmas carols. And in the midst of our Christmas traditions, we will turn our hearts toward the reason we celebrate.

What better way to celebrate Jesus than to wrap our hope around the lives of those with needs greater than ours?

We can share our hope by serving at our local soup kitchen, or filling shoe boxes with small toys and treats for underprivileged children to open on Christmas day.

We can collect coats and blankets to give to homeless families in our communities.

Or we can sponsor a child, like Miguel, and provide school supplies, spiritual nourishment, health care and clothing.

No matter how big or small our budget, we can make a difference. As we reach out to those around us in Jesus' Name, we provide something much more valuable than any earthly treasure. We share the gift of hope!

Dear Lord, give me Your eyes to see and Your ears to hear the needs of those around me; not just at Christmas, but always. I long to share Your passion for the poor and the needy. Help me remember true wealth is not measured by the size of my bank account, but by the size of my heart. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Prayerfully consider Sponsoring a Child through Compassion International as a Christmas gift to Jesus this year. When you sponsor a child you change the life of a child, a family and a community, in Jesus' Name.

Application Steps:Look for opportunities to share the hope and love of Jesus Christ with "the least of these" this holiday season and throughout the year.

Reflections:Reflect on Proverbs 31:20, "She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy." (NIV)

If I take an honest inventory of "my" belongings, do I really need four sets of towels? Do I need to stop for my special coffee this morning? Do my kids truly need that many Christmas presents this year? Who could benefit if I say "no" to any of these questions?

Power Verses:Acts 2:44-47, "All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." (NIV)

Matthew 25:45, "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'" (NIV 1984)

GOD’S ATTRIBUTES – SPIRIT

Jesus said, “a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth." This is one of the core attributes of God.

But what does “Spirit” mean? Both the Hebrew word for spirit (ruach) and the Greek word (pneuma) can mean breath, wind, or spirit. Like the invisible wind that comes from one direction, then another, and can assert itself with mighty power, so does God come as Spirit. Breath, too, is invisible, yet with breath, you are a living being; without it, you are dead. So “Spirit” is a wonderfully precise description of who God is–”the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God…” (1 Timothy 1:17).

We all know that there are two fundamentally different ways of looking at reality. One assumes that only what can be seen, touched, tasted, smelled, or heard is real. This is the materialist position. The other view allows that there are realities beyond our senses, the metaphysical beyond the physical. It assumes that there is a divine Spirit who is not limited by the material world as we are. He moves as he wishes; he is actively present in all places at once. He comes to us as pleasantly as a breeze, but also comes as a mighty cyclone.

If you put a negative spin on it, God’s spirituality may seem like an inferior trait, as if he is less than the creatures and things we all daily see, touch, and smell. It may seem easier to ignore God because he is invisible, and to go on with occasional debates about whether God exists or not-which is like talking about someone who is, in fact, still in the room with us. If there were a lion in the room, we wouldn’t ignore it, but it’s not hard to disregard an invisible God.

But God’s invisibility is not some lack on his part. It is what you would expect of a God who presides over a universe in which there are not just three dimensions, but at least eleven at last count, according to some physicists. And if someone says, “Why doesn’t God just show himself?” the answer has to be, “He did!” “The Word became flesh, and made his dwelling among us.”

Excerpt from Putting the Pieces Back Together: How Real Life and Real Faith Connect. Click for more.

No Secrets: Jesus is a man on a mission

John 10:24The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly."

Every few years an author or scholar or even a movie maker raises new questions-or the same old questions-about Jesus' identity. Often such portrayals show him wandering around the earth in a daze, trying to figure out why he came and what he is supposed to be doing.

Nothing could be further from the account given us by John, Jesus' closest friend. According to John, Jesus was a man on a mission who knew exactly what he had come to Earth to accomplish. John states his purpose in writing very clearly: to get people to believe in Jesus the Messiah (see John 20:31). His book selectively features incidents from Jesus' life to demonstrate who Jesus is.

Shepherd of Israel

"I am the gate," Jesus says in chapter 10; "I am the good shepherd" (John 10:9,11). Jews who hear these words undoubtedly think back to Old Testament kings like David, who were fondly thought of as the shepherds of Israel. Unlike modern-day shepherds, who use dogs to drive their flocks, shepherds in Jesus' day walked ahead of the sheep, calling them to follow; the sheep would respond only to a familiar voice.

In the Old Testament, God is also called the "Shepherd of Israel" (Psalm 80:1). In claiming to be the good shepherd, Jesus is asserting his leadership over a flock he is willing to die for. When some challenge him bluntly, "If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly," Jesus answers them with equal bluntness, saying, "I and the Father are one" (John 10:24,30).

The pious Jews, understanding Jesus all too well, pick up stones to execute him for blasphemy. Not even these hostile reactions surprise Jesus, though. He expects opposition, even execution. As he explains here, a truly good shepherd, unlike a hired hand, "lays down his life for the sheep" (John 10:11). This chapter explains why he makes that choice.

Life Question

What difference does it make to you that Jesus is God, not just a man?

At Issue - Marriage

Did you want to be Cinderella and live "happily ever after" with a handsome prince? What a shock to discover that your prince prefers football over moonlit strolls, picks his toenails in bed and considers "romance" a foreign word. So much for the fairy tale! So what is marriage all about? God designed Adam and Eve to be a team. Adam wasn't complete without Eve, and Eve wasn't complete without Adam. God brought them together for the benefit of each other-and for his glory. That's the point of marriage. And it's better than the fairy tale.

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About Me

I'm author of History in a Year by the Conservative Voice aka History of the World in a Year by the Conservative Voice.

I'm the Conservative Voice.

I'm looking to make contact with those who might use my skill.

I have an m-audio mobile pre amp fed by the audiotechnica 2041sp condensor mic pack. Prior to 15/4/06, I'd used a Shure sm-58 that required a nuclear blast to register a sound or the internal mic of my aged imac, which has a penchance to recording my breathing. I also used a Griffin itrip, until the community convinced me it was not hiding my talent as well as the other mics.

I am a Writer and an occasional Math Teacher (Sir, what's the occasion?). I like to sing, having no instrumental talent (cannot even clap in time, and yes, I'm aware singing badly IS obnoxious).

I have performed the finale to Les Miserables before an audience of 500. I have also sung before a similar audience (students, parents) renditions of 'I Will' (Beatles), 'Mr Cairo' (Jon Vangelis) and 'I am Australian' (Seekers). Now I seek another profession because the audience hates me ..